“Our target for 2018 is slightly higher than the profit guidance for the previous year. Our growth initiatives in reinsurance are benefiting from tailwinds as prices rise. We are investing heavily in digitalisation and are cutting costs to prepare for digital transformation and make Munich Re fit for the future,”Joachim Wenning, Chairman of the Board of Management

This is the first transaction for a restricted Tier 1 instrument with a principal write-down feature in USD, which provides the Group with the greatest financial flexibility and strongest quality of capital for a debt instrument 

Brendan Plessis, Head of Emerging Markets said,“ “We recognize the tremendous opportunities in a number of high growth markets to help build resilience by driving (re)insurance penetration and believe this is the right time to further strengthen our team.” ”
 

Group Chief Executive Officer, Christian Mumenthaler, said: “2017 was clearly a challenging year for the industry – and Swiss Re. However, we believe the outlook for our industry is now more positive than it has been during the last four years.”

Denis Kessler, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of SCOR, commented: “2017 was marked by an exceptional series of major natural catastrophes. The Group is fully mobilized to reach the strategic targets set out in “Vision in Action”.

Victor Peignet, CEO of SCOR Global P&C, commented: “SCOR has a strong position in the 2018 renewals, resulting from the Group’s multiple recent rating upgrades, a client-by-client approach, and the expansion of our capabilities as described in our ‘Vision in Action’ plan. We negotiated to reduce, cancel or decline business that did not meet our hurdles without damaging our franchise. As a result, our portfolio renewed in January is both larger and more profitable while still being well-diversified.”

A media report, citing sources familiar with the matter, said the deal under discussion was for the purchase of up to a third of Swiss Re’s shares at a premium. Such a deal would make SoftBank the largest investor in the reinsurance group.

“Other markets and branches were also freed from the pricing pressures of previous years, and price development was stable or even slightly positive. Despite the high losses from natural catastrophes in 2017, the availability of reinsurance capital remained high during the January renewals, so price increases were moderate overall, due also to the slight rise in market interest rates,’’ said the second largest global reinsurer while announcing its annual results on Tuesday.

“Asia has experienced strong economic growth and development in recent years. This naturally comes with additional risk for businesses, governments and societies. As the world becomes more interconnected, the nature of risks develops: geopolitical uncertainty, growing environmental concerns, ageing populations and new health challenges become significant issues to be addressed in this region”